One Moment of Peace
by JessicaRabbit1989
Summary: Clary and Jace spending one night together, to forget about the war looming ahead.


As the rain beat down onto the ground, Clary and Jace ran through the streets back to the Institute. Despite the rain, they were laughing, huddled together under the jacket Jace held above them.

Together they ran through the gates and up the stairs into the lobby of the Institute, pausing to catch their breath on the carpeted stairs. Thunder roared in the distance. Clary sat down on the stairs and wrung out her hair, 'I'm soaked through!', she laughed.

'Hey! Are you criticising my skills as an umbrella? I'll have you know that no one else has a better looking umbrella compared to me and this jacket.' Jace said, grinning.

Clary stood up and poked Jace in the chest, 'Well, I hate to break it to you Mr Umbrella but you and that jacket did a poor job, considering we look like we just had a shower fully clothed.'

Jace lifted one eyebrow suggestively and pulled Clary into an embrace, he leaned in and whispered in her ear, 'I have to say, I'd much rather we had a shower hardly clothed. In fact, not clothed at all would be better.' Clary giggled and squirmed away from him, Jace laughed, 'Ok ok, a fully clothed shower will do.'

He pulled Clary towards him and she tilted her face towards him, accepting the soft kiss he placed upon her lips. Sighing, she leaned into him, breathing in his scent mixed with the rain. She could feel the heat radiating from deep within him.

'You're glowing again, and getting warmer.'

Jace smiled. He had begun to learn to control the heavenly fire that burned within him. He could control the glowing and lessen the heat now. Plus he almost never set anything on fire any more. That had been interesting. Alec still hadn't quite forgiven him for the day whilst training he had accidently set fire to the punch bag that he had been steadying. And that Alec had been punching. Only Clary's skill in drawing an iratze had kept the burns from permanently scarring.

But whenever Jace was with Clary, holding her and kissing her, Jace shone. But other than the occasional spark between them and Clary claiming she was going to be overcome by heat stroke, he had managed to keep from doing any harm. However, he had a feeling that if things were to get more heated that he may need a fire extinguisher rather than a cold shower.

'Come on, let's go see where everyone has gotten to.' Jace said, pulling Clary in the direction of the kitchen. The Institute was unnaturally quiet, with no sign of the resident Shadowhunters. 'That's weird, where is everyone?' Clary mused.

The entered the kitchen, dropping their jackets on a stool, and as Jace flipped on the light switch, he noticed the note on the counter.

'Taken Alec out, the boy needs to stop moping. Meeting Simon, Maia and Jordon. Feel free to come join. If not, don't wait up.

Mom is out on Sebastian patrol, will be back by morning.

Iz'

Jace handed Clary the note, 'That explains it. Alec's really not handling this Magnus thing very well, is he?' Clary asked. Jace grimaced, 'No. I've never seen him this way. But he'll get over it,' _I hope_, he added silently.

Seeing her brother's name made Clary's heart beat faster, knowing he was out there, plotting, waiting. She shuddered. Seeing her reaction, Jace pulled her to him, embracing her tightly, 'We'll get him. Soon. I promise you.'

Clary sighed, 'I know. I'm just tired of all of this. Why can't we have just one day, one night, hell one moment of peace? All the turmoil and danger in the beginning and now when we can finally be together, Sebastian is still out there, haunting us. Why can't we have a moment to just be?! To just be together, to be happy?'

Jace kissed the top of her head, 'I know, I know. I want that too.' Clary clung to him, breathing slowly, trying to calm herself. He noticed she was still shivering and felt her chilled skin through the fabric of her sweater.

'You're cold. Come on, let's go get something dry and warm to put on.'

Clary pulled away and smiled, 'Hey, it's not like we can all have a heavenly fire glowing inside us, keeping us toasty.'

Jace grinned, 'What can I say, I'm hot stuff.'

Walking into Jace's room, Clary was instantly comforted by the familiarity of the space. Jace pulled out a shirt from one of the drawers and a towel from another, handing them to Clary, 'You can use my shower, I'll go next door.' He kissed her forehead and gave her a nudge in the direction of the bathroom before heading out the door. In the bathroom, Clary turned on the shower, savouring the feel of the warm steam, before stripping off her damp clothes. Placing her underwear on the radiator, she hoped it would be dry enough to put back on.

After warming up in the shower, Clary used the hairdryer hidden in the cabinet under the sink, to blow her curls back into life. She gave her almost dry underwear a blast to finish the drying process and pulled them on along with the shirt. Opening the door to the bedroom, she saw Jace perched on the edge of the bed, in loose fitting, black sleep pants and a fitted white t-shirt, through which she could see his marks. Around the room, candles were scattered, giving the room a soft glow. He smiled as she walked towards him and reached out to her, pulling her into his arms.

'Hi,' he whispered. 'Hi, back. The candles are pretty. Trying to be smooth are we?' Clary smiled. Jace grinned as she bent forward slightly, to kiss him, when suddenly lightening flashed and a roar of thunder made her jump. Jace laughed and rubbed her back, 'Don't worry, it's just the storm.' He stood and walked to the window, closing the drapes. Turning back towards Clary, Jace stilled and caught his breath. She was beautiful. Standing in his shirt, too big for her, she looked small and fragile, with the glow of the candles giving her red hair and creamy skin a golden shine. For a minute he thought, she too had the heavenly fire radiating from her.

'By the angel, Clary, you're beautiful.' He sighed, crossing to her in a swift bound and bringing his lips onto hers. She kissed him back fervently, running her fingers into his hair. Slowly, he pulled away and looked down at her, her cheeks flushed and her lips full. 'Are you tired?' Clary shook her head and her breathing was heavy, 'Cold?' Again she shook her head. Jace frowned, 'Damn, I was going to suggest warming you up. Oh well, I guess since my services aren't required, I'll just go sleep in Alec's room.' And he started to pull away from Clary towards the door. 'Dont you dare!' Clary squealed, trying to pull him back to her. As she did so, Jace used the movement against her and pulled her in his direction and around him so that her back was against the wall. He leaned in and trapped her between his body and the wall. 'Oh, I dare.' He breathed in her ear, before kissing down her neck and across her collar bone.

Clary sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, savouring the feel of his lips against her. Jace's hands found her waist and pulled her closer, his hips meeting hers. Kissing his way up her throat, he came back to her lips and kissed her with a deep, hungry passion. Clary pulled gently on his hair, causing Jace to moan into her mouth and to try and pull her even closer. In response, Clary lifted on leg and wrapped it around Jace, hooking him to her. Jace wrapped one arm around her and braced himself with one hand against the wall. He could feel the fire building and tried to pull it back into himself. Clary whimpered beside him and he pulled away swiftly, searching her face for a sign of pain and for singes on her body. 'Clary, I'm sorry! Did I hurt you? Where did the fire burn you?' he gasped. 'What? No, I'm fine, Jace, honest. You didn't burn me. I just wanted to get closer to you, but couldn't.' Clary explained. Jace looked at her questioningly, and saw she told the truth. 'Maybe I really should go sleep in Alec's room. I'd hate for us to get caught in the heat of the moment, literally.' He sighed and pulled away. Clary grabbed his hand, 'What if I don't want you to leave?' Jace looked surprised, 'What are you saying Clary?' 'I don't know exactly. But I know I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay, so that we can have just one night, one moment of peace. Together.' Clary blushed, her eyes down. Jace tilted her face upwards, looking into her eyes, where he saw fear, hope, passion and love. 'Oh Clary,' he said, before bringing his mouth down onto hers.

Once more Clary wrapped her arms around his neck, and when she did, Jace bent slightly to lift her and she wrapped her legs around him. He carefully and slowly walked towards the bed and gently lay Clary down on it, laying his body across hers, all the while never breaking the kiss. Clary unclasped her arms from around his neck, and moved her hands down his arms, feeling the strong muscles beneath the skin. Slowly she moved from his arms to his chest and stomach, feeling the chisled shape of his abs. Finally her hands found his back and worked their way under his shirt. Jace moaned when she touched his bare skin.

Clary moved her hands over and up his back, slowly pulling his shirt with them. Jace broke the kiss and grinned down at Clary, 'If you wanted me to take my clothes off, you should have just asked.' Clary grinned back and tugged on his shirt, 'Off,' she whispered. Jace straightened and pulled the shirt over his head, exposing his chest to her. Clary traced his marks with her fingertips, before sitting up and kissing each scar she could see, finishing with the long thin scar in the centre of his chest, left by Glorious, the sword of the Archangel Michael. She could feel Jace's chest rumbling, with an almost contented hum. Looking up at his face, she saw his eyes closed and a smiled playing on his lips. While his eyes were still closed, Clary took Jace's hands in hers and moved them to the buttons on the shirt she was wearing. As she used Jace's fingers to open the first button, his eyes popped open and he looked down at her. 'Clary?' he asked, the question unspoken but hovering in the air. 'Yes,' she answered.

Slowly, almost painfully slowly Clary thought, Jace undid each button on the shirt. He made no move to separate the fabric once he was done, but instead kissed Clary gently, and leaned forward so that she had to lay back on the bed. As she lay back, she placed her hands on Jace's shoulders, the shirt falling open slightly. She sighed blissfully as the skin of his chest met hers, and she could feel the weight of Jace as he lay across her. He began to kiss her cheeks, before her neck and as he did his body shifted, and Clary became very aware of how much he wanted her. Suddenly, she felt bold, braver than she had been in this situation with him before. Using all the strength she could muster, Clary rolled Jace off of her, so that he ended up on the bed with her astride his hips. Shock mixed with delight flickered in his eyes as he looked up at her, only growing as she shrugged off the shirt and it fell to the floor.

Jace reached for her and pulled her down to him, kissing her passionately. Clary balance herself with her hands on either side of his head, her chest pressed flat against his. Their passion grew, and involuntarily Jace's hips rose up to her, grinding softly into her. A soft groan escaped Clary's lips, Jace kissed her harder in response and rose his hips again, this time on purpose. Clary realised in this moment that they were reaching the point of no return and pulled away slowly from Jace, feeling suddenly less bold and more insecure.

Jace looked at her worriedly, wondering if he had pushed her too far, 'Clary? Are you ok? We can stop, right now, we don't have to do anything, if you don't want to.' Clary shook her head and her hair fell forward covering part of her face, 'It's not that. It's just, well, I...and well you...I just...' Clary stammered, not knowing how to put her feelings into words, then she took a breath and looked Jace in the eye before quickly saying, 'I don't know what I'm doing and I'm a little scared. But you've done this before, and I don't want to disappoint you.'

Jace felt his heart explode with love for her. Beautiful, brave, and strong Clarissa Fray. The only girl he had ever loved. 'Hey, stop. You could never, ever disappoint me. This is new to me to,'

'But, you said you had, before,' Clary said, frowning.

'I have. But not when it mattered. Not with the girl I love.' Jace said honestly. He sat up and cupped Clary's face in his hands, 'Clary, listen to me. Whatever we do, whenever we do it, it will be perfect. It will be beautiful. Because it's you and it's me and we love each other. You could never disappoint me, you are the most special person in this world and making love to you would be an honour. Never ever doubt that.' Clary stared at him in awe, her eyes shining with tears of love, 'Jace,' she whispered, before leaning into him for a soft kiss.

Jace, still cupping her face with his hands, wasn't surprised when he felt her small fingers pull his hands away. He thought she was telling him to stop, that they should wait. But she pulled his hands around her back and placed them on the clasp of her bra. That surprised him. 'Clary are you sure?' he spoke against her lips. 'More sure of anything in my life.' She whispered back.

Jace unclasped her bra, and brought his hands back along her arms slowly, pulling the bra's straps with them. As he did so, he never took his eyes away from hers, and only once he had pulled the bra away completely and dropped it onto the floor, did he look at her. She was perfect. Her skin was creamy white, glowing in the candlelight. Her breasts small, round and firm, with beautifully pink centres. He raised his eyes back to hers, in them he saw doubt in herself, fear of rejection from him. He reassured her with a kiss. Clary wrapped her arms around his neck and he placed his hands on her waist.

Slowly Jace began to move his hands upwards, and softly brushed the underside of her breasts with his thumbs. He felt her gasp, and he stilled for a moment, before he gently cupped one breast in his hand, and rubbed his thumb over the nipple, cautiously massaging Clary with his hand.

Clary's breath quickened, Jace began to kiss her throat and shoulders while he continued to touch her. Clary wound her hands in his hair, urging him on. Jace kissed his way up to her ear and she could hear his own breathing was heavy. 'You should tell me to stop, now.' He whispered against her. Clary answered by pulling his face towards him and kissing him hard. She pushed him gently so that he lay back down, and began to kiss his neck as he had done to her. Slowly, she kissed her way from his neck, over his shoulders and onto his chest. Once again, Clary kissed each scar and each rune that marked him. Gently, she flicked her tongue out over one of his nipples and felt him shudder beneath her. He ran his hands over her arms and shoulders as she moved down his body, as she continued to kiss down is chest and then onto his stomach. When Clary reached the beginning of the fine trail of golden hair that started just above his navel, she began to trace it with her tongue. Jace groaned and said her name. Clary's tongue met the edge of his sleep pants, and she felt Jace still. Gently she placed a kiss at the edge where fabric met his skin, and rose up to kiss him once more.

She pressed herself closer to him and in doing so, her hips ground against him. A growl, grumbled deep within Jace, and suddenly Clary found herself laying back down on the bed, with Jace positioned above her, a heated look in his eyes. He was glowing again, the light from within him making the candle light dim in comparison. He was beautiful.

Jace looked down at Clary, her hair fanned out around her on his pillow, like a halo of fire. She was every piece of an angel in that moment. He balanced himself with his hands and began to kiss her body, slowly, teasingly. As he kissed her stomach, she squirmed beneath him, her hands gripping his biceps and her hips rising to meet his. As he worked his way back upward, he repeated what she had done to him, by flicking his tongue over her nipple. Clary moaned. Jace continued his attention on her breasts, using his mouth and his hands. Clary pulled at his hair and whispered his name, at this he lifted his head and smiled at her before kissing her deeply.

Their hands caressed one another. Clary loved the feeling of Jace's strong, battle worn hands on her body. His hands, capable of strength and violence, were gentle and loving when he touched her. Jace loved the feeling of Clary's skin under his hands. The soft, delicate and beautiful exterior, and the strength and power that lay beneath. His hands glided down her body and his fingertips found the edge of her underwear. He stilled his hand and looked at Clary, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes heavy lidded, she nodded. Slowly, softly, he drew the fabric over her hips and down her legs, never taking his eyes off of her. And then she lay before him, glorious in nothing but her skin.

'Jace...' she breathed. 'Yeah?' he replied. 'I think you are wearing too many clothes.'

Jace felt his face break into a grin, 'Oh yeah? Well, what should we do about that?' In response, Clary grabbed the waistband of his sleep pants and puuled him towards her. He kissed her then, and felt her hands slip under the waistband, between his pants and his boxers, grabbing his hips and his butt. Jace groaned against her lips and his hips pushed into Clary's, she rose to meet him grinding against his arousal. Clary began to push the sleep pants down his hips and legs, and he helped her remove them completely, kicking them to the floor. All that was between them now, was the thin fabric of his boxers. He could feel her against him, and it took all his self control not to rip away the shorts and take her then. Gently, he rocked againt her, causing her to moan and pull his hips closer. He lay to the side of her, balancing on an elbow and stroking her face with his hand, and with the other he moved his fingers down her body. Past her breasts, over her flat, taut stomach and over the soft patch of red curls which lay at the apex of her thighs. Clary stiffened slightly, and Jace held his hand still. After a moment, Clary took his hand in hers and placed it on herself. Jace smiled and kissed her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Gently, Jace began to touch her. Stroking her softly, and slowly dipping one finger inside of her.

Clary was panting softly, and pulling Jace closer. She couldn't put words to what she was feeling. Jace's skilled fingers moved over her and inside of her, causing her to moan. In that moment, her body acted on it's own. Her hips writhed against his hand and her chest pressed against him. She moved one hand down his arm, over his chest and down his stomach, playing with the trail of hair. She heard Jace's breath quicken as her fingers met the edge of his boxers and slid underneath the fabric. Carefully, she held him in her hand and as she did so, his own hand briefly lost the rhythm he'd had. 'By the angel, Clary!' he gasped and his head fell backward slightly, his eyes closed. Slowly she stroked her hand over him, and kissed his face and neck, while he continued his own movements on her. Clary removed her hand and placed it on his chest, 'Jace,' she whispered, he opened his eyes and looked at her, 'Make love to me.'

'Are you sure?' he whispered, Clary nodded and kissed him. Slowly Jace rolled over, so that he was hovering above her. Clary placed her hands on his hips and gently pushed his boxers down. Jace swiftly removed them for her and was once again hovering above her. Clary looked at Jace, all of him, and he was beautiful. She pulled him into a kiss and felt the hardness of him nudge against her gently, she kissed him harder, urging him closer, wanting to feel him inside her.

Jace pulled away quickly, leaning away from her, causing Clary to think he had changed his mind. But as swiftly as he had moved away, he was back and she heard the tearing of foil. Clary blushed, realising what she had forgotten in her need to feel Jace close to her. Jace lay over her and kissed her gently as he positioned himself between her legs, balanced on his elbows on either side of her shoulders. 'I love you,' he said. 'I love you too,' Clary replied. Slowly, Jace began to push into her, bringing their bodies as close as two can be. Once he was fully inside her, Jace stopped moving, Clary was wincing and a tear formed at the corner of her eye. Jace began to pepper her face with kisses, kissing the tear away and whispering words of love to her. Clary's face relaxed and she opened her eyes to look at Jace, pure love on his face. Clary kissed him and moved her hips against him. In answer, Jace too began to move, pulling slowly out of Clary and thrusting deeply back inside. Clary was grasping at his shoulders, his back, his arms, her nails digging into his skin. Jace didn't care. All he could think about was the heat and feel of Clary beneath him. She was panting now. They both were. A thin sheen of sweat covering their bodies as they found a rhythm between them.

Clary could feel something coiling within her, deep in her core. It started with an agonising slowness, smouldering like an ember. Building and building, Clary felt like it was she who carried the heavenly fire. She couldn't control it, her body was aching for it and she knew the only thing to do was to whisper 'Jace!'. He heard her plea and responded by moving faster, thrusting his hips into hers harder. Jace kissed her forcefully, his hands gripping tightly into the sheets below them. She was almost there, and he with her. Clary was gripping his hips now, urging him on, pleading for him not to stop. He thrust into once again and felt her back bow beneath him and his name escape her in a cry. With this he too was pushed over the edge and fell into ecstasy with her name on his lips like a prayer.

As they lay together, catching their breath, Jace stroked Clary's face and kissing her softly. Gently he rolled off of her and lay beside her, cradling her against him.

Clary sighed happily, 'That was...wow'. Jace grinned, 'You think?' Clary sat up and smiled down at him, 'You really are good at everything aren't you?' Together they laughed, and held each other. Entwined in each other they whispered and caressed, until Clary yawned. Jace reached over onto the floor, picked up their clothes and they dressed each other slowly. Together they drifted off to sleep, smiling and holding each other.

Maryse Lightwood arrived home at the Institute before dawn. She was tired and downhearted after another night of fruitless searching for Sebastian. All she wanted was to see her children and crawl into bed. As she entered the lobby, she was greeted with silence. Silence and puddles of water from two drenched, young Shadowhunters still on the floor. Sighing, Maryse walked through to the kitchen, finding the note from her daughter and two jackets. One was a recognisable one of Jace's, so she knew that the other had to be Clary's. Maryse made her way towards Jace's room, looking to greet her son and scold him for not cleaning up the mess in the lobby. She heard no sounds coming from the room, so knocked softly before opening the door. Her breath caught at the sight before her. Her son and his one love, wrapped together in sleep, holding one another tightly, with love and happiness written on their faces as they dreamed. Maryse smiled as she saw the pair, looking as young as they actually were, and not as old as war had made them become. Gently, she closed the door, leaving them to have one night, one moment of peace.


End file.
